FATIMA MESSAGE

The reason that Our Lady came to Fatima was to deliver a message to the world. This was delivered during her third apparition on 13 July 1917. The message is the most important point of the whole Fatima story.

First part of the message: A Vision of Hell

"Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth," wrote Lucia.

"Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning coals floating about in the blaze, now thrown into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a great bonfire, without weight or balance, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear.

The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive shapes, like frightful unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision lasted but an instant. How can we ever repay our kind Heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by promising, in the first apparition, to take us to Heaven? Otherwise, I think we would have died of fear and terror."

Second part of the message: Chastisement of the Nations

“You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go,” said Our Lady. “To save them, God wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. If what I say is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.” Then Our Lady described the terrible things that would soon happen in the world because of sin:

“The war is going to end: but if they do not stop offending God, an even worse war will begin during the reign of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is a great sign God gives you that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world. In Portugal, the dogma of the faith will always be preserved, etc…”

Third part of the message: Martyrdom and Conversion

The third part of the secret is best left to Sister Lucia herself to tell:

“After the two parts which I have already explained,” writes Lucia, “at the left of Our Lady, and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand. Flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendor that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand. Pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!’

“And we saw, in an immense light that is God, a bishop dressed in white – we had the impression it was the Holy Father – other bishops, priests, men and women religious, all of them climbing a steep mountain, at the top of which was a large rough Cross.

“Before reaching this point [the cross], the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins. He trembled with a halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, praying for the souls of the corpses he met on his way. Having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the large cross, he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him. And in the same way there died, one after another, the other bishops, priests, men and women religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions.

“Beneath the two arms of the Cross were two Angels, each with a crystal chalice in his hand, into which they gathered up the blood of the martyrs and with it doused the people who were making their way to God.”

Source from: http://www.fatima.org/whyfatima.asp

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